Fate sealed their destiny

Antoni and I share a love story destined by fate. He grew up in Jamaica, while I grew up in The Bahamas. I later attended Hunter College in New York City and got quickly accustomed to the fast-paced life.

Meanwhile, Antoni had earned his medical degree from the University of the West Indies and went on to complete his residency at Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau and later at The Rand Memorial Hospital in Freeport, Grand Bahamas, where I was born.

During the summer of 2007, my father, James, fell gravely ill. I dropped out of my summer graduate courses and flew to Grand Bahama Island to be with him. I remember my aunt Janet picking me up from the airport on that hot July day. As she was lamenting my father's state and crying over his imminent death, she stopped midstream to tell me about the "handsome, foreign doctor" who was tending to him. She also managed to tell me that she just felt as though this young man and I would make the perfect match.

Needless to say, my mind was not on finding love as I was faced with the grief and despair that losing one's parent will bring. My father spent about a month in the hospital before finally passing on August 7, 2007. During that time, Antoni was bombarded by daily questions from my father's siblings. He was also tormented and teased daily by my aunt who was simply determined to somehow get the two of us together. After a while even the doctors and nurses on staff took notice of me, as I became a fixture at the hospital and they, too, began to play the role of matchmakers. So grief stricken, I was oblivious to any of Antoni's charms and I barely even smiled at him.

Shortly after my father's funeral, I went back to The Rand to have some paperwork signed. As I sat waiting, I noticed that the nurses were smiling at me and being very nice. Then Antoni appeared and I handed him the papers. After he passed them back to me, I said my goodbyes and started to walk away. However, I felt a gentle hand on my arm and when I turned around, Antoni began to take a piece of paper out of his pocket. He sweetly said, "I'd like to keep in touch with you when you go back to New York. Would that be OK?" I unfolded the paper, on which he had written his name, email address and phone number. I said "yes, we can keep in touch".

Shortly thereafter, a friendship ensued. It was made easier by the fact that Antoni moved from The Bahamas to Roanake, Virginia to work at Carilion Hospital. Our relationship blossomed through daily phone calls and frequent visits. On September 3, 2010, we made the decision to spend the rest of our lives together.

The Proposal - September 3

He came home from work early, claiming to be extremely hungry. We pondered where we would like to eat, settling on Indian,

It was just up the street, you told me that I should take a shower, even though I had done so within the past few hours, you said that I should "look pretty tonight".

I knew that something was brewing, so quite reluctantly I hopped in the tub; you started to yell out, "Babe, hurry up!", and not even 10 minutes had passed; you were rushing and urging me to leave the bath.

I was ushered into the bedroom, shoved along swiftly, I began to put on my navy blue dress, the one that you had suggested, but appearing yet again, you said, "No, there's no time; put on the clothes that you were wearing, they'll do just fine."